Sightless
by Water-smurf
Summary: Spera was a kind blind girl. Then Bishop came to call and she is saved by the turtles. What can Spera do when both the foot ninja and Bishop are after her? And will she ever find out exactly what the turtles are?
1. Flight from Danger

Hi people! It's my first TMNT fic! Yay! Now for a summary.

Spera was a girl who was in an unfortunate accident when she was two years old. The back of her brain was damaged and blinded her for life. She lost her family not long after. Now she is just an orphaned blind girl who works at an old antique store for its charitable owner, then a man named Bishop comes to call. Suddenly Spera is dragged into the turtle's lives and with Bishop and the Foot ninja both trying to get her, how is she going to come out alive?

Century Antique Store

Spera dusted off an old wooden mask carefully. It was sort of strange to be dusting off something you couldn't see but that was what she was used to. She carefully placed the mask to where it was before she picked it up and sat down on the chair nearby. She sneezed a little at the dust.

"Imprecor hic pulvis." Spera sighed.

"Ah, you don't have much to complain about with the dust. I swear, you speak Latin just as well as you speak English!" the shop owner chuckled somewhere to her right.

"Oh! Sir, I didn't know you were there." Spera said, blushing.

"Understandable. Come, it is nearly time to close the shop," the shop owner said. His name was Mr. Kelpling. He was a portly middle-aged man with a brown mustache and rosy cheeks that were obviously built for smiling, though Spera didn't know any of that. She only knew it was him every time because of his cheerful voice. She never forgot voices.

"Quippe." Spera said.

"Translation?" Mr. Kelpling chuckled.

"It means 'sure'." Spera said. She lightly put her hand on the wall and felt her way to the door. Just before she put on the 'closed' sign, however, there was the tinkling of bells that announced a visitor.

"Excuse me but it is closing time, sir." Mr. Kelpling said politely.

"I just need to see your employee," the new arrival said. Spera inwardly shivered at how cold the man's voice sounded.

"Why do you need to see me?" Spera asked with a hint of weariness in her voice, turning to the man. There was a pause where Spera assumed the man was looking her over.

"You're the one," the man muttered. "We'll be taking her."

"Now what is the meaning of this? Why do you think I would just let you take Spera?" Mr. Kelpling said indignantly.

"I'm not coming with you." Spera said simply.

"Secure the area!" the man shouted to someone outside. There was a series of tinklings as more people came inside, and by the clicks that were sounding everywhere Spera concluded there were guns.

"What is the meaning of this? Who are you?" the shop owner sputtered.

"I'm Bishop, that is a name you wont soon forget." Bishop said. Bishop… even the name sent shivers down Spera's back. Someone grabbed her hair roughly.

"You're coming with us," a male voice rasped in her ear.

"Spera! Run!" Mr. Kelpling shouted. Okay, by the way the man was holding her hair, Spera could assume he was behind her. She did the only thing she could think of. She lifted her leg and threw it behind her with all the strength she could muster.

The strangled shout of pain and the sound of someone falling to the ground behind her told her she had hit her mark. Before anyone could react, she burst through the door and ran as fast as she could. The sound of tapping feet behind her told her she was being pursued. She was right; Bishop and several of his other agents were chasing her through the New York streets.

Spera narrowly avoided getting hit by an oncoming car and she felt herself tiring. She couldn't tire now; those people were still chasing her! What did they want? Why did they want her?

She put on an extra burst of speed and the next thing she knew she was falling. She screamed and she hit solid concrete. She blacked out when her leg snapped under her.

A/N

Well, I know it was short, but trust me when I say it will get better. I own nothing, and on to the translations!

Imprecor hic pulvis: Curse this dust.

Quippe: sure, certainly, of course.

Sorry if I got some Latin wrong, I had to rely on a digital dictionary! Review please!


	2. Voices of Friends

The Sewer

Spera moaned at the sharp pain in her leg. She opened her useless eyes and grit her teeth.

"Ego forsit gero infractus crur." Spera muttered her voice strained against the pain.

"Pardon?" someone asked. The voice was gentle; the owner apparently had high intellect. Blind people could tell a lot about people through their voice.

"I have a broken leg." Spera simplified. She heard taps against the concrete, suggesting someone was making their way towards her. Four people, she guessed. One seemed to hesitate.

"Why aren't you screaming?" the hesitant one asked. His voice seemed as though it were normally cheerful, he was probably the funny one.

"If it is about the fact I'm alone and defenseless, screaming wouldn't do me good. Judging by the fact I fell down while I was on the street I'm in the sewer right now and last time I checked there aren't many bystanders to hear me." Spera said.

"Mikey, look at her eyes," the first voice said.

"What about them?" another voice asked. This voice was harder and rougher, probably the most aggressive.

"I'll give you a hint." Spera said, rolling her sightless eyes. "When I close my eyes," she closed her eyes, "I see just as much as I do with them open."

"Oh…" the second voice said.

"How did you get down here?" a fourth voice asked. This one was gentle and kind. He seemed to be… different, for a lack of a better word, from the other voices. He seemed more controlled and understanding. Spera guess he was the leader.

"I was working at the Antique shop then this man named Bishop came in. He said he was taking me. I ran and I guess I fell down an open manhole, hence," Spera gestured to her leg, "the broken leg."

There was a long pause at this. "Did you know why Bishop came after you?" the fourth voice asked.

"No. He just said I was coming with him. I don't know where or why; I just knew it was no where good." Spera answered.

"We've had more than one run-in with Bishop," the aggressive voice growled.

"Can you walk?" the first voice asked. Spera shook her head. The voices had a hushed conversation and she did her best to not eavesdrop.

"You can come with us if you like," the fourth voice said after the private conversation was concluded. Spera found it hard not to trust the voices. She nodded.

"What are your names?" she asked.

"I'm Leonardo, you can just call me Leo."

"Mikey."

"Donatello or Donny for short."

"And Raph."

"Oh. I'm Spera." Spera said. She blushed a little. "I kinda need help walking."

"That is alright." Leo said. He helped her up and she supported most of her weight on him.

"Thanks," she said. A sort of expression flashed over her blind eyes. It was barely discernable but it seemed to be surprise. It was gone before anyone could see it.

"Ego abominor hic morsus." Spera muttered almost inaudibly, still gritting her teeth slightly from the sharp pains courtesy of her leg.

"What is the language you're speaking in?" Donny asked.

"Latin. I'm fluent." Spera said.

"Where'd you learn Latin?" Mikey asked.

"My dad was a historian who mostly worked with European history. I asked someone to convert his old texts into Braille so I could read it." Spera said.

"What's Braille?" Mikey asked.

"It is an alphabet of raised dots so someone could feel it. It is the only way blind people can read." Spera said.

"Oh…" Mikey said awkwardly.

"Don't feel uncomfortable. I'm used to being blind, it doesn't bother me so much." Spera said.

"We're here." Raph said. They led Spera into their lair, and Spera was quickly greeted by the sound of something wooden getting tapped on the ground. It seemed as though someone with a walking stick was coming towards them.

"My sons, what is the meaning of this?" a raspy sage-like voice asked. Sons… so this one was their father and they were brothers. Spera scraped up as much information about her rescuers as she could.

Oh! Master Splinter," Spera catalogued the name into her memory and Leo went on, "this is Spera. We found her with a broken leg and she told us Bishop wanted to take her somewhere so she ran. She can't see."

Spera narrowed her blind eyes slightly. His last sentence seemed to have more meaning to it, as though there was something significant in the fact she couldn't see.

"Sic, ego nec poteo aspicio. I'm sorry if I'm intruding, do you know who Bishop is?" Spera asked. Splinter looked a little confused at her Latin, but Spera couldn't see that.

"Leonardo, please take her to a seat. As you well know, it is a long story." Splinter said. Leo carefully led the blind girl to the couch and she sat down. Then Leo and the others found seats for themselves. Splinter explained to Spera about who Bishop was, but he didn't mention why they knew him. After he had finished, there was a thoughtful silence.

"Quamobrem venator anhelo ego?" Spera whispered to herself. She looked up. "Is there anything that can be done for my leg?"

"I think a splint for a while should help." Donny said. He stood up and went to get the said splint. Spera curled up into a ball with her broken leg hanging over the edge of the couch. She closed her useless eyes and smiled serenely as sleep took her over.

A/N

Whoo! I got a new chappie in! Will the turtles ever tell her what they are? If they don't, will she figure it out anyway? What did Bishop want? All in due time, my readers.

Ego forsit gero infractus crur- I probably have a broken leg.

Ego abominor hic morsus- I hate this pain.

Sic, ego nec poteo aspicio- Yes, I can't see.

Quamobrem venator anhelo ego- Why did the hunter (meaning Bishop) want I? (I couldn't find a word for 'me' or 'did' so no insulting my Latin! I have never had a lesson, just the dictionary.)


	3. Conclusion and Belonging

The Lair

Leonardo watched Spera intently. Questions kept on rising into his mind. Why had Bishop wanted her? Was she in some way useful to Bishop? Was this a trick? Leo frowned. No, this wasn't a trick. If it was this little fourteen-year-old blind girl was a very good actress.

He wondered why he didn't notice she was blind immediately. It was obvious really, the way her sapphire blue eyes seemed to have a glazed quality. She had pupils, so her blindness must have been because of something in her brain. Right now her long raven black hair was covering her face. Donnie had strapped on the splint and she was sleeping soundly. He looked to his sensei.

"Master Splinter, what do you think of her?" he asked. Splinter watched the sleeping girl intently.

"I believe she was telling the truth, though I do not know nor do I think I want to know why Bishop wanted her."

"It did seem unusual." Donatello said.

"This is Bishop, nothing is too low for him." Raphael growled.

"I just have this teensy question." Michelangelo said. Everyone turned to him. "Are we going to tell her about us, or not?"

There was a very long pause at this. The silence seemed to stretch on for eternity. Finally, Splinter broke the silence. "No, not as of now at least. I think it is best she believes she is with her own kind now."

"I can't help but feel she will figure it out." Leo said. Donny shrugged.

"We know, but what else can we do? We'll just have to do our best to not let anything slip." Donny sighed.

"How long do you think she has to stay here?" Raph asked.

"I don't think it would be wise to allow her back on the surface with Bishop chasing her. It is quite likely if she were to go to the surface Bishop would immediately take her away." Splinter said. "It is very likely she will be staying with us for quite some time."

Leo cast his eyes on the sleeping girl again. Just what adventure did they stumble on this time?

**Page break!**

Spera shivered a little in her sleep. Since she couldn't see she couldn't have images in her mind, but she could hear sounds. It sounded like her parents were talking, but that was impossible. Her parents and her brother died when she was about four. Her eyes fluttered open when she woke up. She really just opened her eyes out of habit.

She sat up and yawned slightly. "Qua facio absens?" she asked herself.

"Is speaking in Latin a habit or something?" Mikey asked from somewhere next to her.

"Yes it is," Spera said. "How long was I asleep?"

"About an hour or so." Donny said. Spera nodded. She ran her hand down her leg, wincing slightly at the pain.

"Anything new about my leg?" she asked.

"You broke it in two different places. It will heal after a while though, but you'll probably be here for a while."

Spera paused. There was a slight sound of blades being clashed together. "What style are you fighting in?"

"Huh? How did you know Raph and Leo were practicing?" Mike asked.

"Just because my eyes are useless doesn't mean I'm deaf as well." Spera said with only a hint of testiness.

"Oh. We are ninjas and that is the style we fight." Donny said. Spera nodded.

"I thought so," she murmured to herself. "Radicitus tu anhelo alternis umbra, acsi alternis umbra tu anhelo."

"Huh?" Mike asked confusedly.

"Nothing. When my leg gets strong, do you think you could teach me something?" Spera asked.

"Okay." Donny said. There was a crashed and a hiss of metal being sheathed.

"Leo won, didn't he?" Spera said.

"How did you know?" Raph asked from a little ways away.

"Judging by your voice you're more built for a short weapon. Judging by Leo's voice, he is built for a longer weapon, samurai sword perhaps? The crash told me someone fell down and the hiss of metal told me something long and metallic was being sheathed. Since the one who just fell down would be in no position to sheath their weapon, I can guess Leo won." Spera said. There was a silence where she guessed they were trying to figure out what she just said.

"How can sounds tell you all that?" Mikey asked finally.

"Since I can't depend on sight, my brain compensates by giving me sharper hearing. Since I depend on that, I learn to pay a lot of attention to what I hear." Spera said. Just imagining their expressions she started to giggle a little.

"You can really do all that?" Mike asked.

"Of course." Spera chuckled.

"What weapons do you think Don and I use?" Mike asked amusedly. Spera closed her useless eyes and smiled.

"Mikey sounds smaller, yet from the time I've known him I've learned he is probably the fastest and most agile. He'd need a weapon that would be movable and from the small clacking I hear from his direction it has chains." Spera chuckled a little as Mikey held his weapons to stop the noise. "I would say nun chucks."

"You're right!" Mikey said.

"Now Don is probably the more technical one so he wouldn't use a weapon that depended on speed and flexibility. Most likely he would depend on strength. Since I have never heard his weapon making a sound, I can safely conclude he doesn't use something metal. The only other material that creates ninja-based weapons is wood. Now, a wood weapon that relies on strength would either be a staff or bo. Since Splinter uses a staff, I think Donny uses a bo."

"You're right again!" Mikey exclaimed. Spera grinned impishly.

"Never underestimate me," she said happily. Suddenly, a warm ball of fur started pressing her leg.

"Huh?" she said. The ball of fluff was purring.

"That's Klunk. I think she likes you." Mikey said. Spera picked up the little kitty and it purred more. She put Klunk on her lap and she stroked the little kitty. The kitty purred loudly and snuggled against Spera. Spera smiled sleepily. For once in her life, it felt like she belonged.

A/N

Aww, I think Spera feels loved.

Qua facio absens- where have they gone? (Meaning she didn't know where everyone was.)

Radicitus tu anhelo alternis umbra, acsi alternis umbra tu anhelo- by roots you live by shadow, if by shadow you live.

No insulting my Latin please, people! Okay, I own nothing except the storyline and Spera. By the way, Spera means something in, you guessed it, Latin! Can you guess what it is? **REVIEW!** (No, the translation isn't 'review'.)


	4. Kidnapped

The Lair Two Weeks Later

"Do you think my leg is good enough to walk on?" Spera asked.

"It should be fine but don't try to over-exert it." Don said.

"Mmkay. Do you think either of you could teach me something now?" Spera asked hopefully.

"We could teach you some punches." Mike said.

"I'll go for that!" Spera said, smiling. She shakily stood up and they helped her to the dojo.

"Okay, you just have to hold your fists like this." Mikey said followed by some shuffling. Spera raised an eyebrow in his direction.

"Oh yeah…"

"It's like this." Don and Mike helped adjust her position.

"Thanks!"

"Now you just throw your right fist out."

While they taught her, Spera smiled. Over the time she's been here, she began thinking of these guys as the family she lost so long ago. She actually knew them, and they knew her. It was a feeling of fitting in and belonging that many people took for granted but it was the first time Spera felt it since she was four.

Pretty soon Raph and Leo came in and started to help teach her. Unbeknownst to them however, Splinter was watching interestedly. The students were becoming the teachers.

"Okay, I think that's enough." Leo said after about two hours of this.

"I second that!" Mikey said.

"I think we all do," Spera laughed, then her smile faded and she looked serious. "Guys, is it okay if I go back to the surface?" at the sudden change of topic everyone paused.

"Why? Bishop would probably still be after you." Leo said worriedly.

"I want to know what happened to my employer who was with me when Bishop first tried to capture me. For all I know he is dead," Spera looked down. "I want to know whether his is or not."

There was another pause. "Alright, just tell us where it is and we will take you there." Leo said. Spera smiled. When she told them where it was Don grabbed her arm and they led her out. All the sounds she heard were feet against concrete and the occasional splash of sewer water. Her heart began to beat a little faster than normal, what if her boss was dead? She shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts.

They stopped running and there was the sound of metal against concrete. Spera concluded that was probably the manhole. Don picked her up and jumped to the surface. Once they were there he released her.

It felt cold. It was the kind of cold you felt when there wasn't a sun. There was also an absence of the normal bustle of the city.

"Is it night?" Spera asked.

"Yeah." Raph said. There was a screech of metal against metal and Spera could only conclude they were opening a window. Leo and Mike helped her inside and she was bombarded with familiar sounds and smells, though a gasp from her friends told her all was not well.

Spera hesitantly ran her hands across the walls, and she gasped at how disfigured it felt. She knelt to the ground and ran her hand across the floorboards. There wasn't a square inch that wasn't destroyed in one way or another. She felt some sort of dust at her fingertips, though it definitely wasn't the kind of dust she dusted. She brought a little to her face and suddenly her senses were attacked by the overwhelming reek of dry blood. She quickly brought her hand away from her face. Everyone was silent, not really knowing what to say, and Spera seemed oddly blank.

"Why does Bishop want me?" Spera said half to herself. Her voice seemed to hang in the unnatural silence and her friends seemed to be at a loss as to what to say. Spera listened to a shuffle of feet, they seemed to be covered in cloth, a slight click and…

"LEO, LOOK OUT!" Spera suddenly shouted. There was a scrape, which she could only pray meant Leo had gotten out of the way, a slight exclamation of surprise, and the sound of something sharp embedding itself into the wall.

"Darts?!" Raph shouted. There was the sound of dozens of people landing lightly on the ground.

"The Foot Ninja? When did they come in?" Mike asked. Spera hastily retreated to her friends before any of the enemy had a chance to grab her.

"Hand over the girl and we will leave in peace," a cruel feminine voice said. It seemed as though the owner of that voice may have once been good but something happened and she became cold.

"Never Karai." Leo growled. He seemed very hostile to the women. Spera could only guess something happened with both of them involved. Her friends drew their weapons and moved protectively in front of Spera. Spera pressed against the wall. She could feel the tension in the air, and she knew it was the calm before the storm.

"Very well. Attack." Karai said. It was as if a dam broke. The small antique store was loud with sounds of battle. Spera retreated to the counter and ran her hand across it as if she were looking for something. She soon found what she was looking for.

Her hand bumped a box and she quickly picked it up and put it on the ground in front of her. She opened it and took out what was inside. It was a dagger. Spera ran her finger across its sharp edges just to make sure it was her dagger, and then someone snatched her arm.

"Come with me nice 'an easy girl," someone growled. Spera lashed out with her dagger, careful to avoid any permanent damage. The person cried out in pain and fell back. Some blood from the blade dribbled on her hand and she was disgusted but she grit her teeth and braced herself for anyone else. "Sicut dissimulo cruor." Spera told herself.

Suddenly someone grabbed her from behind. "You're coming with us."

Spera inwardly flinched. It was Bishop. There was no mistaking that cruel voice. She desperately tried to get him with her dagger but he grabbed her wrist. She struggled violently but soon she realized she couldn't fight the older and stronger man so she contented herself with screaming.

"Let me go!" she shouted. Bishop picked her up without a word and she still struggled madly.

"Spera!" someone shouted. It was one of her friends, but it was too loud for her to distinguish the voice. The Foot Ninja made a sort of protective ring around Bishop and the struggling blind girl to keep out anyone who may help her. Spera was just aware of her friends trying to save her when she felt a sharp pricking in her arm and she knew no more.

A/N

Yay evil cliffies! Has anyone bothered looking up Spera in Latin? I suppose not and if you have, please review with the answer.

Sicut dissimulo cruor- just ignore the blood. (I couldn't find a singular word for 'the' but only because I had to rely on a digital dictionary!)

**PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	5. Found

Unknown

Spera woke up with freakishly dulled senses. It was hard to move. She had this terrible pain in her head. She brought up a hand to touch it and she felt a thin scar under her hair. What did they do? She felt the wall she was leaning on gingerly, and the surface was very smooth. It wasn't concrete, that was for sure, perhaps a specific sort of stone?

She tried to stand up but found her legs were bound by something. She ran her fingers over her binds and found it was some sort of metal ring. There was a creak meaning a door was being opened, and someone roughly grabbed her by her hair and shirt. Spera bit back a cry of pain.

She was half dragged, half carried down a hall and another door was opened. Spera was thrown roughly to a cloth-covered floor.

"Don't sit there, get up!" someone said harshly. Spera grit her teeth.

"I'll point out I'm bound or maybe you're too simple to comprehend that!" Spera hissed.

"Insolent brat!" someone slapped her right across the face.

"Enough! We do not wish to damage her before the final operation." Karai's voice said sharply.

"Wait, wait, what was that about an operation?!" Spera snapped.

"It is none of your concern." Bishop's voice said coldly.

"Oh I think it is my concern!" Spera was nearing hysteria. Really, who wouldn't be after being knocked out, waking up in a strange place with an unknown scar, thrown to a floor, heard talk of an operation about to be done to them, and being unable to see the whole time.

"Begin." Bishop said, apparently ignoring Spera. She heard a sound that suggested something mechanical being charged. There was a crash of glass and the sound of people jumping on the ground.

"Hope you don't mind us crashing the party!" Mikey said. Spera felt total relief surging through her.

"Spera, are you alright?" Leo asked.

"I'm fine, but I think they did something weird. I have a scar on my head I'm SURE I didn't have before." Spera said.

"What'd ya do to her?" Raph growled at the general enemy.

"You'll find out soon enough one way or another." Karai said carelessly.

"Attack." Karai and Bishop said in unison. Suddenly the place was alive with sounds of clashing metal and gunshots. Spera cringed as the loud sounds violently hit her sensitive ears. She curled up and grit her teeth, desperately trying to break her bonds on her ankles. Suddenly, she felt someone kneel besides her.

"Here." Don said, unlocking the lock on the chain. He quickly took the chain off of the blind girl's legs.

"How did you guys know where I was?" Spera asked.

"We've ran into these guys more than once." Don said. He helped her move to the sidelines and he signaled to the rest of his brothers.

"Guys, hurry!" Don called to them.

"No!" someone shouted. Spera was roughly grabbed and someone pressed a blade across Don's throat.

"Finish it!" Karai shouted over the din.

"No! Spera!" someone shouted, Spera wasn't sure who. There was suddenly a violent pain coursing through her head. It felt as though the blood in it were on fire. She could feel something happening inside her, as though something was being turned on. Her hands flew to her head and she screamed bloody murder. She could feel the blood pounding in her head, her pulse quickening so much she thought her heart would explode. She felt her brain would shut down or she would have extensive brain damage.

Rushing signals flew to her un-expecting mind. A blood red room… people wrapped in black cloth… four reptilian beings watching in surprise and dismay… weapons… they all had weapons… suddenly the truth came at her, and it felt like a ton of bricks just fell on top of her.

"I can see."

A/N

I'm totally evil with my cliffies, aren't I? Whoot! Excitement! Not a lot of Latin here, huh? I own nothing except Spera and I want you to **Review!**


	6. Light is Shed

Foot Ninja HQ

Spera looked down at her trembling hands. She could actually LOOK at them. Her hands drifted to her hair and she examined it. It was long and raven-black. Her sapphire eyes were no longer glazed, they were clear and alert. She looked up.

"I can see," she repeated. She noticed four strange creatures; they seemed to be really big turtles. The creatures looked guilty and they didn't meet the formerly blind girl's gaze. Her eyes traveled over them. There was little difference between them; one had an orange mask, one had a red mask, one had a blue mask and one had a purple mask. Spera noticed a lot of people in the room. Some were wearing suits and some were wrapped up like a mummy in black cloth, and some seemed hard to describe.

"It worked," a woman said. The lady's voice belonged to Karai. Spera looked her over quickly. She had short black hair and sharp eyes, though her expression neared surprised at her own success.

"This all was about her gett'n her sight back? I doubt it," the red masked creature growled. His voice was all too familiar.

"Raph? Is that you?" Spera asked, looking over her friend. Her gaze traveled to the other creatures.

"Leo? Don? Mikey?" she asked. Each of the turtles seemed slightly uncomfortable.

"Yes, apparently they deceived you about their species. In reality, they are freaks. Oh and you're right, Raphael. This wasn't all about her sight." A man with Bishop's voice said coldly.

"What are you-" Spera was cut off by her own screaming. Bishop brought out a remote, which he had just pressed the button of. Her legs buckled and she clutched her hair, screaming in agony.

"What the shell are you do'in to her?" Raph shouted.

"Just a little something we inserted into her brain. Soon enough she will fix something for us." Bishop said, a cold cruel smile tugging at his lips.

"Whatever it is Bishop, let her go!" Leo shouted. Mikey and Don stared at their poor screaming friend in horror. Bishop smiled sadistically and pressed the same button on the remote. Spera started to scream louder as the pain doubled in power. As if aroused by her screams, the turtles knelt at her side. Raph's face contorted in rage.

"This is how far yer will'n to go? Tortur'n a fourteen-year-old kid? What could she offer ya?" Raph shouted.

"She could actually offer us quite a lot," Karai said passively. She sent a sharp glare in Bishop's direction. "Put her out before she gets brain damage."

Bishop glared at Karai but pressed another button on the remote. The light died in Spera's eyes and she fainted. Don pressed two fingers to her neck and checked her pulse.

"She's alive, but her pulse slowed down." Don said worriedly.

"What could she do fer ya? She's a kid!" Raph shouted at Karai and Bishop. The two villains exchanged annoyed glances and looked back at the shouting terrapin.

"Obviously you haven't looked at her eyes closely." Bishop said.

"Huh?" Mikey asked. Bishop fixed the turtles with a glare.

"We find no need to explain ourselves further."

"Karai, I thought you were more honorable than this! Taking advantage of a defenseless fourteen-year-old girl?" Leo said scornfully. Karai looked slightly uncomfortable.

"It does not matter Leonardo. Soon enough it wont matter what you think," she said finally. She looked to her soldiers. "Incapacitate them and take the girl."

"No!" all four of the turtles said at once. They jumped up and made a protective ring around their comatose friend. The Foot Ninja drew their weapons and fighting broke out. No one saw the man in the corner; eyeing the battle with limited interest. He watched the turtles in particular. He wasn't worried about anyone noticing him for no one could see him. He chuckled darkly; soon they would be able to see him and he would have his revenge. His gaze landed on Spera. Amazing how a small scrap like that could hold the power to give him his revenge. The man shook his head and smiled. He turned his thoughts back to the battle.

A ninja charged at Leo, the two clashed swords for a moment then Leo swept the ninja's feet out from under it with a well-placed kick. Four Foot Tech went invisible and barreled into the turtles. They were stunned for a moment then one of the Foot Tech grabbed Don and threw him into the fray. Don was immediately wrapped up in a fight with one of the Elite.

Karai was battling with Leonardo. Their swords clashed together and some onlookers could've sworn they saw sparks leaping from the colliding metal. The same onlookers almost expected sparks to leap from the two warrior's sharp and angry eyes. No one noticed the creeping government agents before it was too late.

"Look out!" an inaudible voice shouted, only to be unheard. The agents shot tranquilizer darts at the four turtles. The darts let out a faint hiss when they hit their targets.

"What the-" Raph yanked out the dart in his arm. Already his vision was blurring slightly. His brothers followed suit. Each of them fell over to their hands and knees.

"What could Spera possibly give you that is worth all this? How could this be honorable?" Leo asked, the faintest slur in his voice from the tranquilizer.

"My father. The girl will be able to revive him and others, and at the same time getting rid of you." Karai said, glaring scornfully down at the turtles.

"Huh? How could she? The Shredder is dead!" Don said, almost unable to see anymore.

"She's a medium." Someone said. The brothers' sight sharpened dramatically but the other effects of the tranquilizer stayed intact.

"Who said that?" Mikey asked, panting slightly at the effort he had to keep up to stay awake.

"I did." The person said. Everyone turned towards the voice. It was some girl who seemed to be twelve, maybe eleven years old. A black cloak was around her and a hood was drawn over her head to the point you could barely see her face. She had thick black hair that fell to her waist and she had sharp, narrow ice-blue eyes. Her skin was deathly pale and her face betrayed no emotion and no expression was evident there. Leo searched her eyes. He searched them for anything about the girl or any emotion. Her eyes were as cold and hard as the glaciers their color belonged to. This girl had seen too much. She was hard as stone.

"I was wondering when you would come." Bishop said, recovering himself quickly.

"Well here I am in all my glory Bishop. I do not appreciate being here, however. I have to work, you know and I don't need mortals messing around with life and death." The girl snapped.

"Wait, wait, what? What was that about Spera being a medium and why are you calling him a mortal? And what was that about life and death?" Mikey asked confusedly. The girl gave him a flat look.

"A medium is a person who is able to bring someone back to life if they sacrifice a life still on earth. She is one of those few people. And I'm calling him a mortal because he is one," she said moodily. Everyone stared at her. The turtles were staring in amazement at the fact their friend was a medium. They were almost a loss for words.

"Who are you?" Leo managed. The girl smiled. It wasn't a warm smile; it seemed dark, almost demonic. Her eyes seemed to glow an almost ethereal light and the face under the hood of her cloak seemed to disappear, leaving only the eyes visible.

"I, my dear Leonardo, am the Grim Reaper."

A/N

This just got a lot more complicated. Great, we now know why Bishop and Karai wanted Spera and we know what is happening, but where the heck does the Grim Reaper come in? Why am I asking you that? I'm the author, I know where! I only own Spera and I own my form of the Grim Reaper. Just to tell you people, Spera means 'hope' in Latin. **REVIEW!!**


	7. Help!

Foot Ninja HQ

Silence met her statement. The brothers were now fighting for consciousness.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we caught that." Mikey said finally. She fixed him with a long unreadable look.

"I'm sure you did," she said. There was another silence.

"That can't be right. There is no such thing as the Grim Reaper, and even if there was, you couldn't be it, and even if you were, why would you be here?" Don said, panic was faint but there in his voice. The Grim Reaper sighed wearily.

"Ignoring the mortal's questions, would you hurry this up? Like I said, I have quite a few things to do," she snapped. She faded away, apparently just here to watch and perhaps to reap. Don shuddered slightly at the thought of why she may be here. It was his last conscious thought before his eyes closed and the tranquilizer finally took full effect.

"Donny!" Mikey exclaimed, then he was out too.

"The darts worked faster than I had hoped." Karai said. She hand signed to the ninja and three ninja came from the group. Each one of them gripped either Don, Mike, or a barely conscious Raph and dragged them to the sidelines. Raph soon lost consciousness.

An invisible Reaper watched this, her traditional scythe in hand. She quietly walked to the comatose turtles. Her feet barely touched the ground; her footfalls didn't make a sound. She passed her hand through the knocked-out turtles and came out with their souls. The souls looked just like them, only they were transparent and they seemed to almost be made out of spider silk. The three looked over themselves and the comatose bodies next to them.

"Are we dead?" Mikey asked fearfully. The Reaper shook her head.

"No, I thought it would be best for you to see what will be happening while you are unconscious. I will not mess too much in the affairs of the living, but I hardly think allowing you to see this is meddling all that much. Be silent and watch," she said.

By now Leo was on his lying down on his side on the floor. He was fighting with all his might to stay conscious. Bishop leisurely pulled out the remote control. "Activate mind control," he said to the voice-activated feature.

If someone were to look closely enough, you would've seen blue sparks travel lightly across Spera's hair. The blue sparks disappeared and her eyes snapped open.

They weren't the kind sapphire blue eyes that Leo was used to. They were blood red without whites nor pupils. She mechanically got to her feet and glared down at him. She smiled demonically; her teeth seemed pointed. A dagger with a silver hilt materialized in her hand. The dagger's blade actually seemed to be high quality diamond, when the light hit it right tons of multi colored lights would reflect onto many different surfaces like a prism.

A spidery figure stepped from the corner, his face barely decipherable and his visibility terminal. He was a cross between a ghost and a shadow. He half drifted, half walked to Leonardo and looked down on him. Almost every detail was indecipherable, except the eyes. The eyes were glowing red and dripping with hatred. It was the Shredder. He smiled evilly yet did not say a word.

Spera mechanically stepped across the room and knelt by Leo, her dagger in hand. The onlookers could almost see the blood dripping from the blade that they were sure would soon really be there. Bishop narrowed his eyes slightly; soon Spera would kill Leonardo and use him as a sacrifice to bring the Shredder back to life. Spera drew the blade up and braced herself to strike. Leo watched her weakly through half-lidded eyes.

"Spera…" he murmured. Spera hesitated. His voice sounded so weak, as though he were fighting with everything he could possibly fight with just to say that word. Her jaw was slack for a moment in surprise.

"You can fight it, Spera," he murmured weakly. Spera's grip on the dagger tightened convulsively. Something in her eyes was flickering. For a moment you could see her normal sapphire eyes but the next moment it was blood red. Her expression was uncertain.

"What are you doing? Finish him!" Shredder hissed his voice unearthly. He could probably only speak since he was so close to life. A shaky moan escaped Spera's lips. The dagger was shaking now.

"Finish him off or we will!" Karai said from the sidelines, advancing on the girl slightly.

"I will kill you if you don't bring me back to life." Shredder hissed. The flashes of sapphire seemed to be stronger now. Spera glanced uncertainly around.

"Spera…" Leo murmured.

"NO!" Spera shouted. Her eyes flashed once and they were sapphire again. She tore the dagger away from its place in the air so violently it sped like a top across the floor.

"That is the last time you will fail me!" the Shredder hissed. There was a flash of metal claws and three gaping claw marks were ripped into Spera's stomach. She fell over in a heap.

"I think that is the cue for you three to wake up and help!" the Grim Reaper said, snapping her fingers. Raph's, Don's, and Mikey's eyes all snapped open and they sprung to their feet. They attacked the off-guard enemy while the Grim Reaper quietly walked next to Leo.

"Wakey, wakey…" she said, snapping her fingers once. The tranquilizer disappeared from his system and his eyes opened fully.

"How… why…" he murmured. She just half-smiled.

"Mediums are my helpers and I care for them. And believe it or not, death has a soft side. Now I suggest you help her otherwise I will leave this place with a soul," she said. She turned to the now-comatose Spera. Blood was flowing thickly out of the stomach wound and pooling at their feet. Leo knelt beside her.

"Guys! We have to get Spera out of here!" Leo called to his brothers.

"We're a little tied up at the moment Oh Fearless One!" Raph called back, trying to help fight off the hordes of ninjas coming at them.

"Mikey, Raph, try to hold them off. Don, help me get her out. Once we're out, both of you retreat!" Leo ordered. Don broke away from the fight and stepped next to Leo.

"How did she get this wound?" Don asked.

"The Shredder was extremely close to life, to the point he could touch a medium. When she wouldn't sacrifice Leonardo, he punished her," the Reaper said. Leo carefully picked Spera up. Don positioned her clothes so the wound was covered and the bleeding was abated as best as they could with just a thin shirt.

"That is the best we can do now. Normally, we shouldn't move her but we don't exactly have a choice." Don muttered. He twirled his bo staff and covered Leo's back. With Don, Raph, and Mike covering the rear, the four brothers retreated out of the building. It was raining now and the drops of water were pelting down with force. Leo pressed the girl's bleeding form to his plastron, reassuring himself there was still a heartbeat.

The Grim Reaper followed him unseen. She turned her gaze to the faint and flickering spider-like form of Spera standing nearby. The flickering was strong. Spera was putting on quite a fight to remain alive. The Grim Reaper watched the flickering ghost for a while. No… she would not take her unless she stopped fighting. And she wouldn't stop fighting until the four brothers gave up on her. The Grim Reaper shook her head sadly. There were times she really hated her meaning of existence.

The three other turtles broke away from the fight and started running alongside Leo. Raph glanced behind them. "I think we lost them." Raph grunted. His brothers nodded wordlessly, even Mikey didn't say anything. Don opened up a nearby manhole and Leo carefully negotiated Spera down to the sewer. The rhythmic tap of their feet against the wet sewer floor echoed in the tunnels. Finally, they were able to get into their home.

"My sons, what happened?" Master Splinter said, eyeing the bleeding girl and his tail hovering over the floor.

"No time to explain sensei!" Leo said. All four of the turtles ran into the infirmary and Don quickly hooked up Spera to some complicated machines.

"Mikey, Raph, please get antiseptic, cotton balls, and bandages." Don said hurriedly. Raph and Mike ran to the cabinet and came back with said items. Don did his best to stop the bleeding. The EKG was beeping radically.

"Three main arteries were severed. She should be dead by now. Leo, I need a surgical knife and clamps!" Don said. Beads of sweat lined his crown. This would probably be the most serious surgery he would ever do. Leo got the items without question.

"Guys, you should get out while I operate. I can't afford any distractions." Don said. His brothers retreated out of the room putting the situation entirely into their smart brother's hands.

As the door closed behind them, the three turtles adopted weary yet worried looks. It was really mostly Raph and Leo though; Mikey was attempting and failing miserably at smiling.

"My sons, now that Donatello is working on the situation, what has happened?" Splinter asked, raising his eyebrow. Leo sighed and told him everything. From when Spera was captured to when they burst through the door to the lair. Splinter remained quiet through it all. After Leonardo finished, Splinter was silent for a moment; than he turned his head to the corner.

"I believe, you can reveal yourself now." Splinter said. The wraithlike form of the Grim Reaper stepped out of the shadows.

"Impressive. Being able to sense the presence of others." Death said coolly. The three turtles started in surprise.

"Why are you still here?" Raph snapped.

"Raphael!" Splinter said sharply. The Grim Reaper waved it off.

"It's fine. I'm used to people being rude to me. I think it has something to do with the fact I bring along death," she said passively. Her face was still emotionless; her eyes were still hard as stone; yet there was something there. There was something in her that seemed to be… different. Kind, almost.

"Still, we apologize for Raph's behavior. Why are you here?" Leo said civilly. Death turned her expressionless gaze on him.

"Death and life are not supposed to intertwine the way they did today. For resisting the effects of the chip that is in her brain; yes Bishop had a surgery done to her that implanted a mind control chip," The Grim Reaper said to their slightly confused expressions. "Anyway, though it goes against the rules of nature, I'm giving you some wiggle room. If you can save her she will live, the wound is still very serious but I am giving you more of a chance than I usually give."

"We thank you very much." Leo said, barely being able to contain his relief.

"My question is, why is it she just figured out she was a medium when she could see?" Raphael asked.

"She didn't loose her sight through her eyes themselves, it was something at the part of the brain in charge of sight. The abilities of a medium are at that same part of the brain, and if it was so damaged she couldn't see, she wouldn't be able to exercise her power. If you want her to use it, you had to fix the brain." Death said. Mikey looked really confused.

"We will meet again, though hopefully we won't have to soon." Death said, nodding her head slightly. Her body became even more wraith-like. Then, she vanished.

A/N

Okay, that was probably the longest chapter yet! Now that we've got a few things cleared up I wanted to say that I'm planning a relationship. Can't spoil it for you, though, can I? I don't own TMNT but I do own Spera! **REVIEW! REVIEW!**


	8. Mediums

The Lair

Don tiredly walked out of the infirmary and wiped some sweat from his brow.

"The surgery worked and she has been stitched up, but now she needs to have a blood transfusion. We can't be the donors since we are reptiles and Master Splinter doesn't share her blood type…" Don said, addressing his family. Splinter nodded his head.

"You should bring her to a hospital on the surface. They should be able to recognize her need and help her." Splinter said sagely. Leo nodded.

"Can she be moved, Don?" Leo asked.

"She can be, but it is preferable if she wasn't. But, again, we don't have much of a choice, do we?" he said. Leo walked into the infirmary and came back out holding a weak and comatose Spera. Stitches lined her stomach and her breathing was raspy. Leo was struck by how fragile she looked. Even when she was blind, he never thought her as vulnerable. Now she looked like anything could shatter and destroy her, even the lightest breeze.

"Sacrificum… interfeci… Don't make me…" Spera murmured weakly in her sleep.

"It's okay Spera." Leo murmured and he and his brothers made their way out of the lair. Their sensei watched quietly. He was confident Spera would pull through, now it was just a matter of giving his sons the same confidence.

The sewers seemed to wiz past the worried-sick turtles. Leo could feel the life slowly draining from the teenager in his arms. Mikey was the one to reach the manhole first. He quietly opened it and the four turtles jumped out into the night.

It didn't take long for them to reach the hospital. They jumped on the fire escape and went through a window to an unoccupied room. Leo carefully laid the comatose girl on the hospital bed and jumped back out the window. He and his brothers lay in wait to see what the doctors would do if they came in.

**Page break!**

A doctor named Mira quietly walked down the hall. She had dirty blond hair in a bun with pretty blue/green eyes. She had glasses with a black rim and an earring shaped like a delicate snowflake dangling from her left ear. Shoes made an almost hollow tap as she walked through the bright white corridor. She looked down at the clipboard in her hand.

"Okay, room 403 is empty and needs to be checked." Mira said. She opened the door to room 403 and gasped slightly. There was a weakly breathing girl lying on the bed; her breaths rasped and there were fresh stitches on her stomach. Mira quickly hooked the girl on the EKG and found to her dismay the girl's heartbeat was dangerously slow. She consulted blood pressure next.

"Dear God, this girl needs a transfusion now!" she said to herself. She quickly darted out of the room and came back with three other doctors. She quickly explained how she found the girl.

"I'll go check her blood type and bring in some blood from the blood bank." One of the doctors said and he ducked out of the room.

"I'll go extract a sample from her and find out who she is." Another doctor said and he walked out to get the necessary equipment. Everyone busied themselves to help the young girl when the first doctor finally came back with the blood. The second doctor extracted a very small amount of blood from her to examine to see who she was.

"Her name is Spera Willowwood. She is an orphan with no living relatives and apparently her employer was found dead in his shop. She wasn't sighted since then," the doctor said when he got the results. He peered at the teenager who was now undergoing a blood transfusion. "I wonder what caused this severe damage on her."

"We may not know unless we save her! Stop standing there and help!" Mira snapped at him quietly. The doctor threw her a dirty look then he got to work with the patient. She kept on moaning in her sleep.

"Don't make me kill him… he's my friend… silenti etc oportet commoror iaceo…" she murmured. The doctors looked at each other in confusion.

"What is she talking about?" one of them asked.

"Never mind that, what language was that last part in?" another asked. Mira shook her head.

"Like I said, we won't know unless we save her," she said. At that the doctors worked in silence. No one noticed the four reptilian beings outside the window, peering in from the shadows of the night. An orange-masked terrapin looked at the sky. As strange as it was, it was dark enough in the city to see a shooting star arcing across the sky. The four turtles watched the window intently; even Mikey looked away from the star.

A blue masked one nodded to the others and they disappeared from sight, knowing that as soon as the doctors were done with a blood transfusion they would come back to take back their friend.

**Page break!**

Spera was apparently in the town square of an old deserted town. By the looks of it, it was around the time of the Salem Witch hunts. There wasn't a soul in sight. The sun was beating down hard and the air was dry. In front of her there was a singular noose on the gallows with a dead man hung from it. The man's face was swollen almost to the point it was unrecognizable and it was blue with a bit of purple mixed in. The dead man swung in the nonexistent breeze rhythmically, almost hypnotically. Spera's eyes followed it as it went left to right… left to right… left to right…

"I was wondering if you would ever come here." Someone next to her said. Spera looked at the person, who was a young yet serious girl who had her arm outstretched in the position hawkers generally put their arm. Just as the thought crossed Spera's mind, a raven came from the sky and landed on the girl's outstretched arm. The bird's black color looked out of place in the dry landscape of the abandoned town.

"You're the Grim Reaper, correct?" Spera asked. The Reaper turned her gaze to the formerly blind girl. Her eyes were deep and calculating, yet they seemed totally emotionless.

"Yes. I assume you were able to witness the scene in the Foot Ninja's headquarters," the Grim Reaper said. Spera nodded.

"Even when I was unconscious I was totally aware of what was happening. I even tried to warn them about oncoming attacks but I could only heard by the dead like that. When Bishop activated the chip in my head I still knew what was happening around me. I was so scared I would actually kill Leo." Spera said, turning her eyes away from the probing gaze of the Reaper's. She didn't want her to see the pain in her eyes. The Reaper sighed.

"I probably will never understand what life is for mortals. I have always existed to reap, and that is what I do. When you reap every soul that has ever lived, you start getting apathetic and indifferent to both the struggles of the living and their lives. If it helps to know, death isn't painful at all. Many believe it is like they are floating away, as though their troubles were gone forever," she said, watching the dead man hanging again. As though time had quickened, the sun fell across the horizon and the stars and moon came into the sky. The starlight seemed to reflect oddly off the Reaper. She seemed to be wizened. Spera was suddenly struck by how old this girl really was. This girl in front of her was as old as time, and this wasn't an exaggeration. Despite herself, Spera felt pity crawl into her heart for the Reaper. Mortals didn't have to go on forever. Death was their way out, their ending. This girl had to exist forever, reaping souls and taking people away from those that love them everyday to the point each one blends together and she will never be granted an ending. She will have to continue reaping until the end of all living things, and even then it is possible she would have to continue existing; denied the privilege to die and to never be able to care about someone or have even a friend. She would exist alone forever, isolated to all except the souls she took to the dead.

"What is this place?" Spera asked, shaking away the grim thoughts. She highly doubted the Reaper would appreciate talking about her fate.

"This is a place many mediums go when they learn they are what they are. Generally, they come here younger than you. Usually four or five. But due to your sight problem you never came," she said. For a moment they seemed to be surrounded by people. These people seemed to be made of the mist and their eyes were stars.

"Phalanx inferi…" Spera murmured. The Reaper nodded.

"That is one way to refer to them. They are the mediums past," the Reaper explained. The mediums seemed to morph into little orbs of light. The orbs did a little dance around the Reaper and the previously blind girl. Then the orbs shot at Spera, and for some reason Spera didn't flinch. The orbs were absorbed into her and for a moment she glowed with an ethereal light.

"The power of the mediums have been properly granted to you. Use it well." Death said. Everything melted away, and for a moment all that was left was glowing ice-blue eyes. Then, they disappeared as well.

**Page Break!**

Mira walked down the hall again. It had been an entire twenty-four hours since the transfusion for Ms. Willowwood took place and she was supposed to check up on the patient. She quietly made her way to the young girl's room and opened the door.

There was no one inside. Mira walked inside and looked down at the bed. It seemed as though someone had neatly made it. There was a note on the pillow. Mira carefully picked it up and read it.

'_Thank you for saving her.'_

Mira stared at the card. It was written in neat, careful handwriting. She turned her head to the window and she saw it was open with the curtains fluttering lightly in the breeze.

**Yet Another Page Break!**

Spera woke slowly. Her eyes only opened halfway and everything around her was blurred slightly. Someone had their hand wrapped around her's. The hand was leathery and apparently three-fingered.

"Spera?" they asked.

"Leo?" Spera murmured.

"Thank goodness you're awake! We were worried you wouldn't wake up." Leo said, the relief evident in his voice.

"So I didn't kill you?" Spera asked weakly. She felt herself slipping away.

"No, you didn't." Leo said.

"Leo? I'm really glad I didn't kill you." Spera murmured and she fell into a restful sleep.

A/N

Wow that was a lot of Page Breaks! I was just noticing that! Well, it was long and hopefully not so confusing. Now can you guess who the pairing is?

Sacrificum- Sacrifice.

Interfeci- Murder.

Silenti etc oportet commoror iaceo- The dead should stay dead.

Phalanx inferi- Warriors of the dead. (That is what Spera calls them.)

Please **Review **my friends! (Seriously, seven reviews for eight chappies? Pick up the pace people!)


	9. Wake Up Call

The Lair

Spera slowly came too for the second time. The first thing she noticed was four giant turtles talking to a giant rat. They didn't notice her awake. She blinked sleepily a few times, than she remembered that the four turtles were her four friends. She cocked her head slightly at the rat. Walking stick… wizened sage-like voice… she smiled sleepily when she realized it was Master Splinter. Suddenly, Don noticed she was awake.

"You're up!" he said, smiling. The four brothers sat next to her bed and Master Splinter walked up next to his sons. Spera smiled sleepily.

"Okay, let's see if I can match up appearance with names." Spera said. Of course she meant to see if she could see who everyone was despite having been blind and not knowing what they looked like for almost the whole time she knew them. She turned to Don.

"You're Don," she said and he nodded, smiling gently. She turned to Raph.

"You're Raph," she said and Raph smirked, nodding slightly. She turned to Mikey.

"You're Mikey," she said and he smiled widely.

"Got that right, dudette!" he laughed. She chuckled slightly, the action hurting her chest a bit but she continued. She turned to Leo.

"And you're Leo." Spera finished. Leo smiled and nodded.

"You got us all right." Leo said. Spera just smiled.

"All I'm wondering is why aren't you screaming? You can see now." Mikey said. All four of the turtles suddenly looked guilty.

"We're sorry we didn't tell you about what we are. We were worried you wouldn't react well to our species." Leo said. Spera raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly.

"Family accepts family no matter what. Besides, I knew since the beginning." Spera said. The turtles looked up.

"How'd you know?" Mikey asked. Spera chuckled.

"Remember when Leo had to support my weight back to the lair because of my broken leg?" they all nodded. "How many humans do you know that have reptilian skin?"

There was a very long silence after that. Finally Mike spoke. "Why didn't you scream then?"

"You really do underestimate me sometimes. That is one of the great things about having been blind for most of your life. You don't judge people on appearance, and by the time I knew about what you were I had already seen you were intelligent and more importantly kind." Spera said, smiling again. Raph smirked.

"That's refreshing. People usually either scream, faint, or try to beat us up." Raph said. Spera smiled but then flinched and moaned slightly at a sudden flare of pain in her stomach.

"Ow. What happened to me?" Spera asked. The expressions of the four brothers darkened.

"The Shredder sliced you. He nearly killed you…" Don said. Spera's eyes seemed to glaze for a moment, as though she was seeing something that no one else could see.

"He's still there. Did you know that when you are dead all the blood on your hands becomes visible? He has killed a lot of people. He wants to kill me, but he can't…" Spera murmured. The turtles exchanged worried glances.

"Spera, you're okay. You're here, with us. No one else is here." Don said. Spera shook her head slightly.

"He's leaving now. He's realized he can't come back to life. He's unable to stay even as a ghost until the possibility of life comes up again. It is too hard for him to stay…" Spera murmured. Leo frowned.

"There's no one there." Leo said. Spera closed her eyes.

"You can't see them. One of them told me only mediums can see them," she opened her eyes and smiled. "How strange I am actually seeing dead people."

Spera's eyes regained focus and glanced at her friend's concerned expressions. "No, I don't need psychiatric help. Mediums can see the dead." Spera said, smiling slightly. Mikey sighed in relief.

"You had us worried there, dudette!" he said. Spera smiled and turned to Don.

"Any chance of me getting out of bed?" she asked. Don shook his head.

"Not only did you severely injure your organs and you had several stitches, but your leg was over-exerted and now it is rebroken." Don said. Spera groaned and fell back on her pillow.

"Great. Just great. The first time in twelve years I'm able to see and I'm bedridden." Spera moaned. Leo cocked his head.

"Twelve years? I thought you were blind your whole life," he said. Spera shook her head.

"When I was two my mom was taking me to the grocery store. One the other end of the road there was a drunk driver. The guy slammed into us head-on and my safety seat went forward and fell off the seat. I ended up hitting my head really hard on this elevation on the floor of the car. I guess I don't have to tell you what happened because of that." Spera said. There was a slightly awkward pause at this.

"Don't worry about it. Like I said, I'm used to it." Spera said. She sat up again.

"Maybe while I'm stranded on this bed you guys can teach me how to read something besides Braille." Spera said. Mikey grinned.

"Maybe Donny and Leo can do that. I'm not sure if Raph even knows how to read!" that particular comment earned him a bap on the head from the said turtle.

"Idiot…" Raph muttered and Spera laughed.

**Page break!**

Spera absently fiddled with the edge of her covers. She looked up to see a ghostly four-year-old girl watching her. Spera cocked her head and the girl copied her. Spera sighed a little.

"Seeing dead people is going to take some getting used to." Spera said. The girl giggled. She seemed to have once had strawberry-blonde hair with big blue eyes, but now they were the color of the wind with only the barest trace of what the color once was. She was wearing a once-was pink jumper with pretty white stockings. Spera stared at the girl and the girl stared back at Spera. One would've thought it was a staring contest. Mikey and Leo suddenly walked in.

"What are you staring at, Spera?" Leo asked. Spera didn't look up.

"This little ghost girl appeared a minute ago." Spera said. Mike and Leo exchanged glances.

"Oh! Er, where is she?" Mikey asked. Spera wordlessly pointed at the girl.

"_What is your name?"_ Spera asked the girl. Mike and Leo didn't hear that. They heard muffled words, as though someone had put a thick wall in between them and Spera. This was the language of the dead.

"_Larissa. I got very sick. Momma didn't know what to do. They couldn't help me…"_ the girl, Larissa, said. Tears came to her eyes and she started crying. She turned around and ran right through the wall; leaving a stunned medium behind her.

"Okaaaaaay… what just happened?" Mike asked, seeing her expression.

"She just ran through the wall. She said her name was Larissa and she had gotten sick. I think that's how she died…" Spera said. She shook her head.

"I will just have to get used to ghosts running around. I do believe that that was the third one today." Spera said. There was a slight stunned silence.

"Well, we have to give you credit for calmness, Spera." Leo said, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Yeah, I bet I would've been screaming my shell off if that happened to me." Mikey said, grinning. Spera laughed a little.

"So did you come in for a social visit or something else?" Spera asked. Leo stood up and took some crutches that were leaning on the wall to her.

"Don thinks you can start using these." Leo said. A huge smile broke across Spera's face.

"Thank you!" she said, hugging Leo. Leo stood there awkwardly.

"Group hug!" Mike shouted and suddenly Leo was caught in a hug with both of them. Leo shrugged and hugged them back.

A/N

Okay, and we're done with this chappie! I plan on making the next chapter the last one, but that may change. I own nothing except Spera and the grim reaper. Review please!


	10. Truly Belong

The Lair

Spera hobbled her way to the couch and sat down. She glanced around the lair fondly, remembering about how she first met the guys. Donny was busily working on his computer, Raph was working out, Leo had gone to the surface and Mikey was cooking. Speaking of which…

"Ow! Hot! Hot!" came frantic exclamations from the kitchen. Spera sighed.

"Not again…" she murmured. Mikey came running out, frantically waving his hand.

"What'd ya do this time, Mike?" Raph asked. Mike stopped running around, but he was still shaking his hand.

"I just flicked some water on the oil, and the oil just came jumping at me!" Mike said. Spera started laughing.

"That is what it always does! You're supposed to stand back a little." Spera chuckled. Mike scowled.

"Hey! It's an easy rule to forget…" he said. There was a 'ding!' from inside the kitchen.

"Oh! Dinner is almost ready!" Mike said, running back into the kitchen. Don looked up from his computer.

"Where's Leo? He should be back by now." Don said. Spera perked up.

"I'll go get him! I'd like to be able to actually see the surface." Spera said hopefully. Don looked doubtful.

"Are you sure Spera? You still can't walk properly, and New York City is dangerous at night," he said.

"Please Donny?" Spera gave him little puppy eyes. Don reluctantly took out his Shell Cell.

"Fine, just call one of us if you run into trouble, okay?" he said, throwing her the turtle phone. Spera caught it.

"Okay," she said, smiling. She put the Shell Cell in her pocket and hobbled out of the Lair.

The sewer was dark as usual. Leo had already showed her the right way to the nearest manhole. Spera hobbled a little ways away, watching the shadows reflect weirdly off the sewer water. She could just make out her own reflection in the water, but as a passing rat trailed its tail in the water, the ripples made the reflection disappear.

Spera looked up and saw the ladder she was supposed to climb. She didn't know how she did it, but she had negotiated herself and her crutches through the manhole and stood up on the surface.

Outside was unusually dark for New York. It was so dark you could make out the stars. That was something very rarely seen in the city that never sleeps.

Spera looked up and she could faintly see the tail end of a blue ribbon fluttering from the roof. Spera let the fire escape down and climbed up to the top of the roof, nearly falling down numerous times.

When she finally got to the top, she took a moment to dust herself off and she spotted Leo sitting at the edge of the roof, watching the sky. Spera shakily put her crutches down and sat next to him. They both watched the stars in silence for a while.

"Why do you think all of the people have turned off their lights?" Spera asked.

"There's supposed to be a comet tonight and there was an announcement on the radio." Leo said. Spera leaned backward to the point she was lying down.

"I really like the stars. I've only heard descriptions before," she said.

"Nothing really beats seeing the real thing." Leo agreed, lying down next to her. She closed her eyes and smiled.

"Amazing, really, how dependant people are on their eyes. I never realized what I was missing." Spera said. Leo smiled faintly.

"We cannot change what has past, but now you can enjoy the present." Leo said. Spera chuckled a little.

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Spera said. Her smile disappeared and a lone tear drifted down her cheek.

"Spera? Are you alright?" Leo asked, concerned. Spera shook her head.

"It's just… Bishop and Karai have done so many terrible things. They killed my employer, they tried to bring the Shredder back to life, and the worst part is they tried making me kill you. In a way it feels wrong to enjoy having my sight back when they were the ones who gave it to me." Spera said. Leo gently wiped the tears from her face.

"The important thing is that you were strong and you resisted. The Shredder is still dead, and I'm alive. They didn't succeed." Leo said. They sat in silence for a while, just comforting each other with their presence.

Spera shakily stood up. "I almost forgot, everyone is having dinner soon and Don was getting worried. I think we should save him more worry," she said. Leo stood up as well. Spera's legs decided enough was enough. They buckled and she fell back to the ground.

"Spera?" Leo asked.

"Ow, sorry. I strained my legs. I can't walk." Spera said. Leo crouched down and half helped, half picked her up. She stood up by technicality, but she was leaning all her weight on Leo's plastron. She blushed slightly at how close they were. Acting on impulse, she kissed him.

They were both surprised, but Leo recovered quickly and deepened the kiss. They were like that for a little while, but all too soon they broke apart.

"Are you sure? You know I'm not human…" Leo said. If a turtle could blush he was blushing.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Spera said, blushing a light pink. She smiled.

"I won't tell your brothers if you won't?" she said. Leo nodded.

"Deal," he said. He picked her up and jumped onto the fire escape. Spera smiled and closed her eyes. Now she really did truly belong.

A/N

Awwwww… Okay, I normally am really bad at romance scenes, but I think I was actually able to pull this one off. What do you think? This was the end and sorry to say but Sightless is over. Now could you people PLEASE review? I know you're out there, 1153 hits, 4 favs and 4 alerts doesn't fit with 7 reviews for a ten-chapter story. Pick up the pace people! On a side note, I really hope you enjoyed it!


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